In this household, we’re big coffee/crumb/streusel cake eaters. Actually, we love anything with crumb toppings. Muffins, bread, cakes. You name it, we love it. The more crumb the better! Cakes with layers and thick frosting, not so much. I love looking at them but eating them is another story, unless they’re *really* good and it has to be chocolate.
Today’s post is a favorite of mine. Crumb cake! Would you be shocked if I told you I have never had fresh cranberries before? Not until this week. I didn’t realized they were so tart and they stain! It turned my sink purple but I don’t mind. This cake is worth scrubbing my stained sink for. Aren’t they pretty? It really makes the cake pop! 🙂 I’m starting my weekend early this week so enjoy yours.
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, divided
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/3 cup of sour cream
- 2 small apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 (12 ounce) bag of fresh cranberries, rinsed and dried
Crumb:
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup of light muscovado sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of unsalted butter, melted
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9″ x 13″-inch baking pan with non-stick baking spray. Line it with a sheet of parchment paper leaving a generous overhang for easy removal; set aside.
Using a stand or electric mixer (or mix by hand) mix together 2/3 cup of sugar, lemon zest and butter. Add eggs, one at a time then vanilla extract.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the dry mixture into the egg mixture, 1/3 at a time, mixing each time until just moistened, while scraping down the sides. Add sour cream and mix until combined (do not overmix).
In a small bowl add sliced apples and douse with lemon juice, using your fingers to combine; set aside.
Dollop batter into the prepared pan, using a spatula to spread the batter into an even layer. Place the apple slices over the top of the batter, then place the cranberries over the apple slices. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the top.
For the crumb: Mix flour, muscovado sugar, salt and butter in a medium bowl with your fingertips until it looks like wet sand. Sprinkle evenly over the entire batter and bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick/tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before cutting into the pan. Once cooled, cut into squares and serve.
Adapted from passports & pancakes
uni homemaker 
Cranberries and Apples, oh my, Anne. Throw in some crumbs and I’m all in!!!
Thank you so much for sharing…
There’s something so homey about a crumb topping, isn’t there? Love the apple and cranberry combo in this. Sounds amazing, and looks gorgeous!
Love the colors. These look so amazing!
I LOVE crumbles/streusels. this would be a dangerous thing to have on hand!
Oh heavens, this looks SO amazing. I’m a huge fan of crumb cake and I love this fall twist on the traditional kind!
Wow the cranberries give this a wonderful burst of color. Looks delicious, pinned !
Oh Anne, what colour those cranberries add to this yummy-looking dessert! Beautiful!
Anne, this is just not fair…I need one (or more) of these right now! These look absolutely gorgeous. I just might be making these this week to put on the dessert table. I’ll let you know what the crowd thinks! (=
Printing and already pinned…fabulous sweet treat, my friend!
The topping on these looks incredible!!
I am a crumb lover too! These are not only gorgeous to look at but I bet equally delicious! A great treat for Thanksgiving morning. Have a great one Anne!
Cranberry-Apple combination never fails! Great recipe!
Cranberry-Apple combo never fails! Thanks for the post!
These look heavenly! I just love cranberries and anything with a crumb topping. Beautiful pictures…I see all those lovely details of these bars. Now you should really send some over if your gonna tempt me like this. Haha Well at least I have lots of cranberries on hand I can make my own with your recipe. Hopefully, they come out at lovely. 😀
I’m assuming the sour cream goes in with the egg mixture. Sounded too good not to try for Thanksgiving.
Hi Terrie: The sour cream goes in after the wet and dry ingredients have been incorporated. You add the sour cream last until combined but not overmixing it. Thanks for calling that out. I have updated the recipe and the the PDF file. Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you and your family will enjoy this cake if you do plan on making it. Cheers!
So gorgeous and perfect for this season!
I thought I was the only one who loved crumbs. 😛 Really beautiful!
These are good, just made however I printed the recipe yesterday and just before putting on the apples, I realized I still had the sour cream yet. Hmmm, so I scooped out the batter and added. It was much easier to spread afterwards. So yes, at the time I printed this that part was missing. But btw, I did not actually use sour cream, I make my own kefir so used that. I like that this is not too sweet with the tartness of the cranberries.
I think although the cranberries are the star singer here, the apples actually make a great backup. They provide some nice texture but you don’t really notice it as much since all you’re focusing on are the lovely looking cranberries and that awesome crumb topping. Happy Thanksgiving!
Gorgeous! I am so, so envious of all of these seasonal cranberry recipes I’m seeing. We can’t get fresh cranberries here, only dried or in pre-made cranberry relish, so I’m just going to have to live vicariously through the photos 🙂 And beautiful photos they are, Anne, gorgeously vibrant and seasonal. I can imagine how good these bars must be… yay for crumbly streusel goodness! xx
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Oh my gosh – these look AMAZING! So bright and delicious. I’d love to reach right into that screen and grab one!!!
Yum, that looks delicious!
I’m a big fan of anything with a crumb topping too, but I don’t have it nearly enough. I have to remedy that starting with these bars. They are so festive and perfect for the holidays!
The cranberries are so gorgeous and festive! What a wonderful holiday treat!
These look great! Such an appetising colour…
These look delicious! I can’t wait to try them!
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Wow, Anne, these look fantastic. I’m not much of a baker but I’m definitely attempting these for the holidays. Thanks so much.
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This looks fantastic. 🙂
Is the possible to make this a day in advance? Will it still stay and taste good.
This cake looks absolutely delicious and perfect for a coffee. The photos and colours are just beautiful!
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